Walnutport Council Grilled On 'Break-in' President Says She Was Threatened

March 19, 1985|by DAVID M. ERDMAN, The Morning Call.

Walnutport residents last night tried to get answers on Borough Council's controversial elimination of the borough manager's position, but the meeting raised more questions, including allegations about a break-in at the manager's office and reported threats asking council's president to resign.

Council President Susan Hamm turned the meeting over to Councilman John Bowers shortly after receiving what she said was a "threatening phone call" just before last night's regular council session opened at 7 p.m.

Hamm remained in another room with an off-duty patrolman from Lehigh Township for the duration of council's session, later explaining in a telephone interview that she had received a phone call asking her to resign.

"I was in the office with the manager and the solicitor and got a type of threatening phone call that upset me very much and I could not man the meeting," Hamm said. "It was a phone call asking me to resign," Hamm added, but she declined to say what kind of threat was made by the caller or why the resignation was being asked.

She said the threats were being investigated by police.

In Hamm's absence, council members were pressed to explain whether they were being questioned by state police in connection with a break-in at Borough Manager Richard Manfredi's office sometime on the weekend of March 1.

Resident Ed Buss asked council members about the break-in, but Bowers said, "I don't know anything about it." Other council members gave similar responses when asked about the break-in.

Manfredi said he could not comment. But Walnutport patrolman Joseph Penissi said a break-in reported by Manfredi after he returned from a weeklong vacation in Florida is being investigated by state police at Bethlehem and the Northampton County district attorney's office. State police who are investigating the reported break-in could not be reached last night for comment.

Heated discussion over the elimination of Manfredi's position took up much of the remainder of the meeting. By a 3-2 vote Feb. 27, council voted to terminate the manager's post effective April 1 because of what some said was a struggle in which council members felt their power was being taken away by new procedures Manfredi implemented. The position, the borough first-ever manager's post, was created a year ago.

Addressing one of council's major complaints regarding a purchase order system he instituted, Manfredi told council members the system was aimed at keeping better watch over borough expenses. Manfredi said he refused to go along with members' attempts to have him circumvent the purchase order system after they voted to adopt it. He said that would have violated the state's Open Public Meetings Law.

"When I set up controls on purchasing," said Manfredi, "this may have stepped on people's toes."

Manfredi said he tried to "go along" with the wishes of council, to the extent of attempting to meet Councilman Franklin Henry's requests to have borough crews fill in a portion of his property with crushed stone. Said Manfredi, "I did it - but against my better judgment because I don't believe in doing political favors."

While council members accused Manfredi of wasting borough money, Manfredi said council never took up his suggestions for cost-cutting measures. He said he recommended a 3 percent wage increase for the police force, which the police indicated a willingness to accept, only to return from a trip out of town to find that council had made the police a counter offer of 5 percent increase.

Council also criticized Manfredi for his $22,000 salary, but Manfredi pointed out to members that they voted to approve that salary. He noted that Councilman John Chomko, the most vocal critic of the salary, seconded the motion approving the salary.

One council member called for patrolman Penissi to remove resident John Roberts from council chambers when Roberts approached Bowers at the council dais and began lecturing him about being denied additional time to address council on the manager's situation. Shortly after Penissi told council members he could not remove Roberts unless requested to do so by the council president, Roberts left the borough hall on his own.

Buss said that, with the termination of the borough council position and the allegations about a break-in at his office, "Things have gotten out of hand in the borough. There are rumors flying around and it is not good."

Buss charged that council was being unclear whether it was the borough manager position they wanted to eliminate or whether the move was a way to fire Manfredi.

"What you really wanted to do was fire him, so why didn't you just come out and say that?" Buss asked.

Susan Rockel, sewer authority treasurer, told council Manfredi was "fighting a losing battle" trying to work with council.